The pick of the Saturday prices....

Friday, 8th May 2026

The pick of the Saturday prices….

Get this afternoon’s picks here….

In ATC today….

…. I bring you my best picks on Ascot’s Saturday card….

I’m on KHAFIZ in the 2.20 – up at 14s & 12s….

…. and I’m on BULLETIN at 9s in the 2.55….

That’s the summary….

…. you’ll find all my reasoning below – as per usual….

Oh…. and if you’re looking for the standout place terms on offer – you’ll find them in the Bet Box below….

Read on….

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…. the Victoria Cup – Ascot – 2.20....

This is the feature betting heat of the day….

…. 29 go to post and plenty of onlookers will see it as one for the pin-stickers….

…. but my view is that tough puzzles lead to pricing errors and I back myself to jump on something competitive at a price….

The stat bods will instantly put a line through anything aged 6 or older….

…. with 18 of the last 22 winners aged 5 or younger….

I’m not sure that helps too much in reality….

…. but my pick – KHAFIZ at the 14s & 12s – does conform….

I thought he ran well enough on his first go for Edward Bethell at Haydock a fortnight back – in what looks a decent race….

He went pretty deep….

…. Callum Rodriguez didn’t knock him about late on….

…. and he gave the impression that he’ll come on for the run….

His Doncaster performance toward the end of last season was promising….

He only got beaten a half-length by Rogue Diplomat that afternoon….

…. and that one’s produced improved performances on both subsequent goes – finishing second in the Lincoln in March before running another big race last month in the Spring Cup at Newbury….

Khafiz is still to make his mark – having only won a couple of novice events to date….

That said he’s already rated 97 – but he’s totally unexposed and connections thought he retained sufficient upside to pay 85,000 guineas for him after that run at Doncaster….

He’s an interesting runner at a nice price….

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…. the Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% Italy Handicap – Ascot – 2.55....

BULLETIN ran a cracker on his first go back at Newbury….

…. going down just a half-length to Rathgar – whose been out and won again since (now 9lb higher in the rankings)….

…. and narrowly getting run out of it for second by Valedictory – a horse representing both Godolphin and the Gosden team – who reopposes tomorrow and sits atop the market at 7/4….

There was just a neck between them at the line – and I don’t think Bulletin was finished or giving best at that point….

Tomorrow both horses step up a quarter-mile to the 12f trip and – however it pans out – I can’t quite see the case for Bulletin being four times the price of Valedictory in the betting this morning….

I think the general 9s is worth taking….

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Now, just to recap….

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That’s all for today….

I’ll be back with more next week….

Meantime – contact me at – nick.pullen@spapublishinggroup.co.uk

And remember – win, lose or draw – enjoy the racing….

Stay tuned….

Against the Crowd